Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1887-03-12

greatly in their stringency. Inc most
strict is South Carolina, where no d.
vorces for any cause have ever been
granted, except while the state was
under ~carpet-bag rnle. The opposite
extreme is seen in Maine and Indiana,
where divorces are granted at the dis
erection of the court. In New York it
is entrusted to the supreme court, and
divorce is granted for adultery alone:
Imprisonment for life, however, is re-
garded as civil death, leaving the other
party free to marry even without any
judicial action. Divorce, q 9nenS0 Ell
tOr0, is granted to the wife for cruelty,
Or for conduct rendering co~habitation
unsafe, or for wilful desertion, or for
neglecton the part of the husbands pro-
vide for her. Marriage is made null 40
iqitio for force, fraud or near consan-
guiuity. In Missouri. unless the law
has been changed within a few years,
divorce is allowed for adultery, deser-
ton for two years, cruelty, habitual
drunkenness for two years, or for Offer
ing intolerable indignities.
So much for the states, now as TO the
churches. The Roman church holds
IN lrriage as one OF her seven sacraments,
and no divorce is allowed for post
nuptial reasons,sexcept q ssheeunbap-
tiseg Observation-Disclosures whs9 one
Hfke 4 fffS5 bxC0nss dSsomanist and
the other refuses, or when either party
is guilty of a serious crime. Marriage
NAV be null al initiO, or divorce may
be granted for sixteen ante nuptial
reasons, such as force, vows, crime,
rank clandestineness, consangulnlty,
affinity within the fourth degree, etc.
| Separation a mensa Cd toro is granted for
vows, adultery, apostasy and crimes,
even such as cruelty and prodigality.
The Greek church agrees with the
Roman in holding marriage to be one
I OF the W sacraments.
The Protestant is somewhat divided
on this subject. but the general view
held is that divorce may be allowed
for adultery and for wilful and persis-
tent desertion. Such is the view OF the
Westminster Confession of Faith; and
| separation is allowed for all indefinite
number of causes. Amongst Protes-
tant theologians, two radical views
have prevailed: /. That divorce is to
be allowed only for adultery.
Amongst others, this is the opinion OF
Neander, Pres. Wolsey, (who has
written very ably on the subject),
Jacobus, Adam Clarke, .Olshansen,
Bloomfield, CABINET, Buck and kitto.
2. That divorce may be granted for
adultery or desertion. Luther, Calvin,
| Zsvingle, Hodge and Dabney repre-
| sent this view. As marriage is Il di-
| vine institution, with civil accessories,
God has directly legislated upon the
subject. To all those who accept His
revelation, what he says should be and
is final. Before entering upon the eX-
amination OF the s%criptural teaching,
there are two general principles OF i'll
depreciation which must be kept in
miuI: /. That husband and wife are
anenable TO precisely lie same law ;
that is, VI hat is contrary TO the marriage
law i'll one is also i'll the other. 2.
That adultery makes both parties to it
guilty. If it is adultery i'll one, it must
b. in the other.
Let us examine every passage i'll the
Bible bearing directly Oh the question
Dieut "a: 1,2, "When d man hath TAX
Ell Il wife and married her, and it come
to pass that she find no taVor in bis
eyes, because he hath found some un-
C eanne in her; then let him write bel
IA bill of d~ivorcement, and give tin hel
iand and send her out ST his house,
Aud when she is departed out of hl>
house, she may 60 and be another
mans wife" This is a divorce fol
a~nte-nuptiai reasons, and tor u%nclean-
ness or crime. Hillel said, ''FOr any
cause,'' and such was the practice
Shammai said, s'For adultery, or other
serious crime" II allows tine. marry.
ing again of either party. But thii
Mosaic statute is, in express terms, alb
rogated by Christ, Matth. 3: 81, 80 anC
1J:7, s.
| call special attention to Matth. 5:31
81, which l regard as the pivotal passage
OF Scripture on the subject: ut hail
been said, 'Whosoever shall put ava!
his wife, let him give her a writing 0
enforcement But | say unto you
that whatsoever shall put away his wife
save for the cause OF fornication, caus
eth her to commit adultery; and who
soever shall marry her that is divorced
(same word IN Greek as put away
committeth adultery" This passage
teaches: 1st, That the Mosaic law
of divorce is superseded by the new
law of Christ. 2nd, That putting ava,
except for fornication is wrong, as j
leads to sin. 3rd, That a wife pu'
away, except for fornication, is made
to commit adultery that is, a wife wh'
has been pure is made an adulteress b,
being put away. How? Certainly no
by the mere fact that, as an innocen
person, she has been wrongly put away
Bat manifestly upon the s%uppositiol
thai she marries again, when she ha
not been put away for a proper cause
4th, Then If a wife or husband who ha
been wrongly and ~inocently divorc
ed aud who marries again is guilty 0
adultery, surely for Il still stronge
reason the guilty party who has been
properly put away commits adulter,
by a second marriage. 9Th, If the in
nocent party who has been wrong.
fully divorced is not allowed to MARI,
on pain of being guilty of adul
rery; then by far Implication
neither can the injured party, VIII,
for just cause puts away a guilt,
companion, innocently contract a new
marriage. On, This law allows Separa
hoR Jor just cause, bat toes not alto,
second maJTiage to either The g~iAy 0
tie tnaoce5t. 9TH, The last Statement
IS tnal ~hosoeVer marrics a divorce,
person commits adultery. That i.
either, a. Whoever narries one pror
eriy divorced (tor tornication) CON